A Funeral for a Friend
by purinsesu-sereniti
Summary: random short au: aang dies at the battle with ozai. a short piece in katara and the others beginning to pick up the pieces of their new lives without the avatar. possibly the start of a new story, or will forever remain a oneshot. heavy zutara.


Nothing had ever felt like this before.

The pain was crushing, the pain was suffocating. It took her breath away and left her wobbly-kneed on the battlefield as her eyes took in the bloodshed all around her. Bodies strewn about, both comrades and enemies, no more did those titles matter now that they were dead. Blood ran through the streets and death did not discriminate- it took everyone it possibly could, as it usually did in a time of war.

But one that it took hurt more than she ever thought a death could hurt.

He lay at her feet, still and silent, his wise gray eyes forever closed. Aang had given the ultimate sacrifice in order for them to survive and for them to win. He had, in the final moments of the fight, took down the Fire Lord and in exchange handed his life over to the spirit world. Across the way, Ozai lay on the ground, now a prisoner of the son he had once tortured and abused. That same son who would now inherit a nation torn between civil war as those who would remain loyal to Ozai would flee to the mountains, where they would stay until the time was right to stand up in revolt, which surely would come before long. Those who remained loyal to Zuko and the Avatar would put their best foot forward and the nations would come back together for the first time in over one hundred years... At least, that was what they hoped for. That had been Aang's dream, after all.

" _Katara..._ " The voice was soft in her ear and the touch to her shoulder caused her to jump, startled from the confines of her own whirling mind. It was Zuko's eyes she was staring into when she turned ever so slightly and as she opened her mouth to speak, she realized she was stumbling, falling forwards with no hope of catching herself.

He could see she was going to faint; from where he stood at his father's side, he had turned to survey the world around him, and of course his eyes locked onto her. She stood there so forlornly, her sapphire hues misty and her face ashen. And then she was swaying and he knew what was happening, so he went to her side, his hand just barely touching her shoulder as his lips spoke the familiar syllables of her name. She was turning towards him when her knees finally buckled beneath her and she stumbled forwards, right into his arms, and he carefully led her down to the ground, murmuring softly against the top of her head as she began to cry.

This was their new life, a life without Aang the Avatar, a life without their dearest friend.

[ x x x ]

For hours she had laid in her bed, not moving and hoping that if she chose to ignore what day it was that it would simply pass her by. But, when the knocks began to sound on her door, she knew she could no longer avoid what was to come.

It was several days since the final battle and already much had begun to change. Zuko's coronation was set for a few weeks later, as he'd refused to do it before Aang had been properly buried and mourned. And though she had wished it was any day but this one, Katara knew that Aang had to be buried and she had to be there to witness it. They could not- and would not- do it without her of all people.

As she rose from her bed, another knock sounded on her door, and before she could respond it opened, revealing a smiling young woman in her door way. "Good morning, Lady Katara," she greeted as she stepped over the threshold, leaving the door open behind her. "My name is Padme, the Fire Lord has sent me to assist you." Her brown eyes were somber as they looked upon the young waterbender, who looked as if she'd much rather have the floor swallow her up. The Fire Lord had told her that this same young woman had not left her rooms since the day of the fight and had refused any and all visitors, even her own brother who she was the closest to. Zuko had known Padme growing up, as she had been the only of his sister's maids to calm her when she raged, and had hoped she might bring Katara some comfort on this day. "He also sent you these." She flashed her another small, sweet smile and beckoned for someone to come into the room. A pair of maids entered, carrying between them a small trunk. Padme stooped and opened it, stepping back to allow the young waterbender to come forward, reaching inside and pulling out its contents.

Katara had not expected such a thing, but, she supposed she could always count on Zuko to try cheering her up. But as she pulled the contents of the trunk out, she could not help but to give a little gasp at the extravagence of the items. The first thing she pulled out was a beautiful set of black robes, simple yet elegant, made from a material softer than anything she had ever felt before. At the bottom was another box, this one very small and she reached in, picking it up after she had passed the robes off to Padme, who began to lay them across the still made bed. Inside the small box, nestled in red silk, was a gold hair pin; it was ornately wrought, with a single red fire ruby in the center. It was a beautiful piece, unlike anything she had ever seen in all of her life. With her breath catching in her throat, she swallowed, and turned to Padme with the small box clutched in her shaking hands. "I don't know how to do this," she said softly, almost desperately, and she realized a moment later that tears were streaking her cheeks.

Padme felt her heart breaking at the sight of this girl, so full of sadness that she could hardly speak, could hardly even think. "Nobody ever does," she replied softly as the two maids from before returned, carrying with them what looked to be a large tub, and behind them came two more with buckets of water. In and out they went, two bringing buckets while a third heated the water with her own bending. When all was said and done a few minutes later, Padme beckoned for the girl to come closer, and she smiled upon her. "But you are not alone."

Blinking, Katara let those words sink into her mind, and she realized how selfish she had been these last few days. Aang was gone but she was not the only one who had loved him. She was not the only one who was suffering. Swallowing down whatever bit of her tears were left, Katara nodded, silent but standing taller than she had been only just a moment before. She allowed Padme to help her from her clothing and into the bath, water sloshing over the sides as she climbed in and submerged as far as she possibly could. She had been selfish, she knew, and she would atone for that.

[ x x x ]

Zuko was growing more and more worried that Katara was not going to show.

Padme had reported back to him an hour ago that Katara had allowed her into her rooms (she had not told him she had more or less barged in on the girl, though she had a hunch he wouldn't care since it had worked) and would be ready for the funeral. But now that the moment was here, Katara was no where to be found. She wasn't in her rooms, she wasn't anywhere that anyone could find.

And so, that was why he and the others had split up and were looking for her. Of course the funeral could not begin without any of them, but it was set to begin in twenty minutes, and Zuko had hoped to have even just a moment with the others before it began. They all needed each other more than ever right now. Especially Katara. As he passed by a window that overlooked the gardens, he happened to glance out, and he slowed to a complete stop. There she was, standing before the statue of Aang that had been erected only the day before, staring up at it as if she could not believe her eyes. Breathing a sigh of relief, Zuko backtracked a few steps and slid out a side door that the servants used, one that dumped him off into the garden's storage unit and then right into the gardens.

As he approached her, he could not help but to admire at how beautiful she was in her black silk robes and her hair piled high atop her head. The sun caught the gold of the ornament she wore in her hair and he was doubly glad he'd sent it to her that morning. She must have heard him approaching for she turned a moment later, pinning him with those intense blue eyes, eyes that he swore could see right into his soul. "Zuko," she said softly, tilting her head to the side, her lips trying to curve with a smile. "I'm sorry, I know I was supposed to meet everyone..." He held up a hand, silencing her, giving his head a little shake. He came to stand beside her, his golden eyes reflective in the sun as he turned them upon the statue. "Thank you..." She then said, her voice stronger than it had been in days, and this time when he looked at her she was truly smiling. "For this..." She gestured at the statue and then her hand trailed up to touch the golden hair pin. "And this... It's lovely." She turned back to look at the statue then, taking in the sight of Aang's smile carved into the cool, white marble.

"It was my mother's."

Katara's breath caught and she turned back to him as he turned to her, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping as she stared at him. "Oh, Zuko... I can't..." She reached into her hair, as if she meant to pull it free and hand it back to him. "I can't keep something so precious." At that moment his hand was on hers, stopping it from pulling the ornament from her hair, and he pulled her hand back down, not releasing it from his grasp.

"I want you to have it," he insisted, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away, amazed by how cold his skin was without hers against it. "She would have wanted you to keep it." He went on, feeling somewhat bashful when her eyes filled with tears, as he never knew what to do when a girl cried. He was reminded of their time in Bah Sing Se, when they had both spoken of the loss of their mother's. Of when she had put a hand to his face and he'd felt a spark of something he could not ever put a name to. He wondered if she had felt it too, but had never had the guts to ask such a thing of her. "We should go," he then said, offering her his arm to take, and together they returned to the palace, to attend the funeral of the friend that had brought them all together.


End file.
